Burgler proof gun apparatus

ABSTRACT

A substantially cylindrical cylinder having a longitudinally extending narrow opening through which guns may be inserted and removed. The cylinder is bolted to the floor and within the cylinder, there is a rotatably mounted gun rack having a plurality of longitudinally extending compartments in which guns may be placed. The compartments being provided at the bottom with gun support means. The steel cylinder is closed at the top and there is a door for the longitudinally extending opening, the door being provided with one or more locks. There is a cabinet enclosing the cylinder and gun rack. The cabinet has a door with locks and the cabinet is secured to the floor by any suitable means. The gun rack is also provided with a lock or locking means whereby it may be locked against rotation and an empty gun compartment is locked in register with the opening in the cylinder.

United States Patent 191 Robertson Oct. 2, 1973 BURGLER PROOF GUN APPARATUS [22] Filed: Aug. 22, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 282,855

Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-J. Carroll Baisch [57] ABSTRACT A substantially cylindrical cylinder having a longitudinally extending narrow opening through which guns may be inserted and removed. The cylinder is bolted to the floor and within the cylinder, there is a rotatably mounted gun rack having a plurality of longitudinally extending compartments in which guns may be placed. The compartments being provided at the bottom with gun support means. The steel cylinder is closed at the top and there is a door for the longitudinally extending opening, the door being provided with one or more locks. There is a cabinet enclosing the cylinder and gun rack. The cabinet has a door with locks and the cabinet is secured to the floor by any suitable means. The gun rack is also provided with a lock or locking means whereby it may be locked against rotation and an empty gun compartment is locked in register with the opening in the cylinder.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED GET 2 SHEET 1 [IF 2 PATENTEDnm 2mm SHEET 2 BF 2 BURGLER PROOF GUN APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to gun racks and relates more particularly to burgler-proof gun racks.

2. Description of the Prior Art There are various types of gun racks known in the art, but, as far as I am aware, none of these provide the security against thieves and burglers, that will provide adequate protection for guns.

Many people have very valuable gunssuch as rifles and shot guns that are used in competition. Thereare,

of course, also pistols, revolvers and the like that are very valuable. All of these guns may be decorated, en'- graved or the like and with many owners of such guns, their theft could be a serious financial loss.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a substantiallycylindrical steel cylinder having a longitudinally extending relatively narrow opening therein and there is a door for this opening. The door is provided Withone or more locks and the cylinder is secured to the floor. At the top, the cylinder is closed. Axially aligned and arranged, bearings are disposed within the cylinder and a gun rack is rotatably mounted within the cylinder by means of these bearings. The gun rack is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending gun compartments and there is a lock at the upper end of the gun rack for locking same against rotation. A steel plate at the top conceals this lock.

A cabinet encloses the cylinder and gun rack therein, said cabinet being secured to the floor and closing at its upper end. A door provides access to the cylinder and gun rack and said door is provided with one or more locks.

In use, one of the gun compartments may be left empty and locked in register with the opening in the steel cylinder. The door of the steel cylinder is locked and the door of the cabinet is also locked.

When it is desired to remove a gun from the apparatus, the cabinet door is unlocked as well as the door for the opening in the steel cylinder. The lock for the gun rack is unlocked so that the gun rack may be rotated and'the various compartments brought into register with the opening in the cylinder. The rack is rotated until the compartment of the desired gun comes into register with the opening in the cylinder. The gun is then removed through the opening and the rack locked in position. Thereafter, the door for the cylinder is locked and also for the cabinet. Replacement of the gun is effected by the reverse procedure. It is to be noted that the opening in the cylinder is only large enough so that one gun can be removed or replaced at one time.

OBJECT AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a gun cabinet that is substantially burgler-proof.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a gun cabinet having rotatable gun rack with plurality of gun compartments.

It is still another object of the invention to provide apparatus of this character having a protective shell about the gun rack, the shell having a relatively narrow opening through which guns may be past to place in the rack or to remove themfrom the rack.

his a further object of'th'e' invention to provide apparatus of this character that is attached to the floor and having various locks to prevent ready access to the guns. i

A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this character having an external cabinet that will conceal the nature of the assembly disposed therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of'this character which permits only one gun to be removed or one gun replaced at a time.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention are further sufficiently referred to in connection with the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, which represent one embodiment. After considering this example, skilled persons will understand that many variations may be made without departing from the principles disclosed and I contemplate the employment of any structures, arrangements or modes of operation that are properly within the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings, which is for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the apparatus with portions broken away to show interior parts;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the protective cylinder for the gun rack;

FIG. 4 is a top plane view taken on line 44 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the protective cylinder and showing parts of the gun rack mounting;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the gun rack; and

FIG. 7 is a reduced perspective view of the exterior cabinet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown a gun cabinet or apparatus, indicated generally at 10, comprising a protective shell 12, a rack indicated generally at 14 and an external cabinet indicated generally at 16.

Protective shell 12 is of any suitable material such as, for example, sheet steel and is generally cylindrical in shape. There is a slot or opening 18 which extends longitudinally of the protective shell and a door 20 is provided for this opening. Door 20 is hinged to the shell by means of hinges 22 and locks 24 are provided for locking the door in the closed position and thereby closing theopening 18 to prevent access to the interior of the shell;

At the lower end of the shell, there is a cross-member 28 and each arm of the shell has an upturned flange 30 at its free end. The flanges 30 secured to the shell by any suitable means such as, for example, screws or bolts 32. Alternatively, rivets could be used or the parts secured together by spot welding, brazing or the like.

Protective shell l2is anchored or secured to the floor by means of bolts 34 or by any other suitable means so as to prevent the apparatus from being displaced or removed. H

A block 36 of any suitable material such as, for example, wood, is secured to the central part of the cross-.

member 29 by means of screws or bolts 38 and disposed in an opening in the block is a ballbearing assembly 40 which is an axial relationship to the protective shell 12.

At the upper end of the shell, there is a cross-member 42 having flanges 44 at the free ends thereof and said flanges are secured to the shell by any suitable means, such as, for example, screws and bolts 46. The crossmember 42 also has an arm 48 which extends from said cross-member to the shell and has a flange 50, similar to the flanges 44, which is secured to the shell by means of bolts or the like, not shown. On the cross-member 42, there is disposed a block 52 of any suitable material such as, for example, wood and there is an axial opening 54 in the block in which is operably mounted a ballbearing assembly 56. Above the block, is a crossmember 58 having flanges 60 at the free ends thereof secured to the shell by means of bolts or screws 62 or by any other suitable means. Block 52 is secured to the cross-pieces 42 and 58 by bolts or other suitable means, not shown.

The rack 14 is disposed in the protective shell and has a hollow axial shaft 66 to which top and bottom plates 68 and 70 are secured by welding or the like as at 72. Between the plate 68 and 70, are a plurality of gun compartments 74 defined by sheets 76 shaped as a flaring U in cross-section. The arms of the U are somewhat radial so that the compartments are wider at the outer ends. Each of the arms is provided with an angle iron bracket 78 at both top and bottom. The horizontal parts 80 of the brackets are secured to the plate 70 and the vertical parts 82 are secured to the adjacent part of the sheets 76. The horizontal parts of the upper brackets are secured to the plate 68 and the vertical parts thereof are secured to the sheets 76. Thus, the sheets 76 constitute partitions which defined the chambers or gun compartments 74 in which guns are adapted to be removably mounted or stored. When guns are placed in the compartments, the butts of the guns rest on the'respective parts of the plate 70 defining the bottoms of said compartments. The brackets are secured by any suitable means such as spot welding,

' brazing or the like.

Disposed in the bearing assemblies 40 and 56 are stub shafts 84 which have reduced diameter parts 86 extending toward each other and said reduced diameter parts are disposed in adjacent ends of the hollow axial shaft 66 so that the gun rack 14 is rotatable within its protective shell.

Means is provided for locking the gun rack against rotation, said means comprising a lock 88 carried by the upper plate 68 and having a bolt 90 adapted to be received in an opening provided therefor in the arm 48. The key for the lock 88 is shown at 92, the lock itself being hidden by the portion of the protective shell above the upper end of the opening 18 so that a person not familiar with the apparatus would not normally be apt to locate the lock. With this arrangement, the gun rack may be locked against rotation with an empty gun compartment aligned or in register with the opening 18. Thus, anyone trying to. steal a gun would be unable to gain access to any of the' gun compartments having guns therein. By having locks on the door 20, addi- .4 tional protection is, provided against burglary of the guns in the apparatus.

The external cabinet 16 may be of any suitable material such as wood, for example. it is primarily for the purpose of camouflage so that a burgler would not easily recognize the assembly as a place for storage of guns.

Cabinet 16 may be of any suitable shape and includes a base 94, a top 96 and vertical panels 98. One of the vertical panels is provided with an access opening 100, HO. 1. Opening 100 is provided with a door 102 hinged at 104 and provided with a lock 106. While only one lock is shown, there may be several' The base 94 is secured to the floor by bolts 34 so that the external cabinet cannot be readily moved.

While the external cabinet is shown as being hexagonal, it is to be understood that it may be of any other suitable shape.

While the apparatus is shown as having gun compartments 74 for rifles, shot guns and the like, it is to be understood that small compartments may be incorporated for small guns such as revolvers, pistols and the like.

The invention and its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit or scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages, the arrangement hereinbefore described being merely by way of example and I do not wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned except as defined in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A burgler resistant gun storage apparatus comprising:

a rigid burgler resistant protective shell having a doorway therein;

means for permanently securing said burgler resistant protective shell to a supporting floor;

a unitary lockable door positioned to close said doorway;

whereby said door/shell assembly becomes substantially burgler resistant;

a gun rack rotatably mounted within said secured protective shell;

said gun rack having gun compartments in which said guns may be placed;

whereby rotation of said gun rack may position a selected gun compartment of said burgler-resistant protective shell at said doorway;

lock means for releasably locking the gun rack against rotation;

said lock means being adapted to lock said gun rack at a single given annular orientation;

whereby said gun rack may be locked at an angular orientation at which an empty gun compartment is adjacent said doorway, so that guns in other compartments are safe from burglary due to the coaction of the burgler resistant locked gun rack and the secured burgler resistant protective shell.

2. The invention defined by claim 1, wherein said securing means comprises at least one member secured to the lower end of the shell and secured to a supporting floor for said apparatus.

3. A gun storage apparatus comprising:

a cylindrical protective shell having a longitudinally extending opening therein;

shell, said gun rack having partitions defining gun compartments in which said guns may be placed, the gun rack having top and bottom plates and an axial shaft; bearing mounting means adjacent the upper and lower ends of the protective shell, and secured thereto;

bearings mounted in said bearing mounting means for operable connection with the axial shaft of the gun rack;

a lock for releasably locking the gun rack against rotation.

4. The invention defined by claim 3, wherein said member secured to the protective shell adjacent the lower and thereof function as the means for securing the apparatus to a supporting floor.

5. A gun storage apparatus comprising: a cylindrical protective shell having a longitudinally extending opening therein;

a door for said opening, said door being operably mounted to the shell adjacent the opening, said door being adapted to close said opening;

at least one lock for said door;

at least one member secured to the lower end of the shell;

means for securing said member to a supporting floor for said apparatus;

a gun rack rotatably mounted within said protective shell, said gun rack having partitions defining gun compartments in which said guns may be placed;

bearings adjacent the upper and lower ends of the gun rack for rotatably carrying said gun rack;

bearing support means for securing said bearings to the protective shell;

a lock for releasably locking the gun rack against rotation.

6. The invention defined by claim 5, including an external camouflaging cabinet for enclosing the protective shell and gun rack, said cabinet having a longitudinally extending opening therein; a door hinged to said cabinet adjacent one side of the opening, said door being adapted to close said opening; and at least one lock for said door for releasably locking said door. 

1. A burgler resistant gun storage apparatus comprising: a rigid burgler resistant protective shell having a doorway therein; means for permanently securing said burgler resistant protective shell to a supporting floor; a unitary lockable door positioned to close said doorway; whereby said door/shell assembly becomes substantially burgler resistant; a gun rack rotatably mounted within said secured protective shell; said gun rack having gun compartments in which said guns may be placed; whereby rotation of said gun rack may position a selected gun compartment of said burgler-resistant protective shell at said doorway; lock means for releasably locking the gun rack against rotation; said lock means being adapted to lock said gun rack at a single given annular orientation; whereby said gun rack may be locked at an angular orientation at which an empty gun compartment is adjacent said doorway, so that guns in other compartments are safe from burglary due to the coaction of the burgler resistant locked gun rack and the secured burgler resistant protective shell.
 2. The invention defined by claim 1, wherein said securing means comprises at least one member secured to the lower end of the shell and secured to a supporting floor for said apparatus.
 3. A gun storage apparatus comprising: a cylindrical protective shell having a longitudinally extending opening therein; a door for said opening, said door being operably mounted to the shell adjacent the opening said door being adapted to close said opening; at least one lock for said door; at least one member secured to the lower end of the shell; means for securing said member to a supporting floor for said apparatus; a gun rack rotatably mounted within said protective shell, said gun rack having partitions defining gun compartments in which said guns may be placed, the gun rack having top and bottom plates and an axial shaft; bearing mounting means adjacent the upper and lower ends of the protective shell, and secured thereto; bearings mounted in said bearing mounting means for operable connection with the axial shaft of the gun rack; a lock for releasably locking the gun rack against rotation.
 4. The invention defined by claim 3, wherein said member secured to the protective shell adjacent the lower and thereof function as the means for securing the apparatus to a supporting floor.
 5. A gun storage apparatus comprising: a cylindrical protective shell having a longitudinally extending opening therein; a door for said opening, said door being operably mounted to the shell adjacent the opening, said door being adapted to close said opening; at least one lock for said door; at least one member secured to the lower end of the shell; means for securing said member to a supporting floor for said apparatus; a gun rack rotatably mounted within said protective shell, said gun rack having partitions defining gun compartments in which said guns may be placed; bearings adjacent the upper and lower ends of the gun rack for rotatably carrying said gun rack; bearing support means for securing said bearings to the protective shell; a lock for releasably locking the gun rack against rotation.
 6. The invention defined by claim 5, including an external camouflaging cabinet for enclosing the protective shell and gun rack, said cabinet having a longitudinally extendiNg opening therein; a door hinged to said cabinet adjacent one side of the opening, said door being adapted to close said opening; and at least one lock for said door for releasably locking said door. 